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Quick take on the MBL 6010D Reference Preamp

I had an absolutely wonderful afternoon, about four hours of listening, sitting in front of my good friend/audiophile/music lover's reference system, in order to tell him what I thought of his new "toys'" sonic performance.

His new piece is the magnificent looking and sounding MBL 6010D reference preamp, that recently was released about six months ago. This preamp weighs in at 90 pounds! The rest of his system is reference caliber: Kharma Grand Ceramiques, Kharma amps and wires, CEC TL-0 transport, Meitner DAC.

So, you could see way this would be a delightful experience to listen to my favorite music on this world class rig, but that's not what I really wanted to share with you GON members, the reason for this post was how shocking better the MBL was over his old and very highly regarded Lamm L2 reference preamp.

I dislike intensely audiophile cliche's, like it "blew it away", however in every meaningful factor(s) such as noise floor, liquidity/transparency, harmonic/dynamic details, soundstage width/depth and just a beautiful sense of natural bloom and air with very natural timbres, the MBL was not just an improvement over the Lamm, but a true qualitative shift towards the sound of music.

So, does this mean the Lamm L2 is now a "hunk of junk" of course not, but for me it means at least two things: 1) The MBL 6010D must be considered to join the ranks of one of the best 4 or 5 preamps in the world today. 2) I would believe that while the Lamm L2 is still a very good preamp it's ranking as one of the best references must be revaluated compared to not only the MBL but some of the state of the art preamps on the market today. As an absolute reference I think the Lamm L2 is starting to show its age.

My friend's system before he replace the Lamm L2 was a real sonic knockout before, with his new "baby" the MBL 6010D its gone to a new level of performance and musicality. Congratulations, Brother Keith, it's a great addition to your system and you will have years of pleasure listening to the music you love even on a higher level now!
teajay

Showing 2 responses by mike

mike
30 posts
 
I just took delivery of the latest 6010 pre and it is nothing short of amazing! I am in awe of its extreme degree of resolution while at the same time exhibiting a truly euphoric approach to the music. the sound stage is expansive like I've never experienced before, yet the images within that stage are precise, unclutter, and have a natural roundness to them that is simply indiscribable. Quiet, this pre should be listed in Webster's dictionary as THE "meaning" for the word.
Low level informaton is staggering. Play a well recorded live performance and I am there like never before. Really enlightning. I have always been taken aback by mbl's demos at shows and I mostly atrributed the sound to their wonderous spks. I can now state without hesitation the 6010 is a MAJOR contributor to those musical experiences.
My opinion (for what its worth), the world's greatest pre, YES!
mike
30 posts
 
I too just took delivery of a 6010D and was stunned by its performance. I was one of those "guys" who insisted that tubes were the only avenuew to the emotional side of the music. NOT! This mbl pre is so spectacular in its ability to resolve low (I mean really low) level information, dead on focus of localization with a vast soundstage, and dynamic impact that I simply find myself in awe of its performance. Not to mention it is one the most beautifully constructed pieces of gear I have ever seen!
For years, I would enter an mbl suite at a show and be mezzmerized by the sound I heard there. All the time givng most of the credit to the wonderful 101 spks. Well, I truly beleive I was no giving as much credit to mbl's elecctronics as I should have. I am so impressed with the shear musicality of the 6010D that I'm going to get there 9006 mono blocks as well.
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